| Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev | |
|---|---|
 The aircraft carrier at Tianjin Binhai aircraft carrier theme park on May 1, 2004 | |
| Career (Soviet Union ⁄ Russia) |   |
| Builder: | Chernomorskiy yard, Mykolaiv |
| Laid down: | July 21, 1970 |
| Launched: | December 26, 1972 |
| Commissioned: | December 28, 1975 |
| Decommissioned: | June 30, 1993 |
| Fate: | Sold to a Chinese company, 1996, theme park in Tianjin since 1 May 2004 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Kiev-class heavy aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: |
30,530 tons (standard) [1] 41,370 tons (loaded) [1] |
| Length: | 273.1 m overall[1] |
| Beam: |
49.2 m (161 ft) o/a 31 m (102 ft) w/l[1] |
| Draught: | 8.95 m [1] |
| Propulsion: | Four shaft geared steam turbines, 140,000 shp (100 MW) |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | 13,500 nautical miles (25,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: |
1,612 ship's crew 430 air group |
| Armament: | 4 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (8 missiles), 2 × twin SA-N-3 Shtorm SAM launchers (72 missiles), 2 × twin SA-N-4 Gecko SAM launchers (40 missiles), 2 × twin 76 mm guns, 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS, 10 × 533 mm torpedo tubes, 1 × twin SUW-N-1 ASW rocket launcher (16 nuclear-tipped rockets), 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers |
| Aircraft carried: |
32 (total); 12 Yak-38M fighter aircraft 20 Kamov Ka-25 or Kamov Ka-27 helicopters |
Aircraft carrier Kiev, USSR, 1985.
Kiev was a heavy aircraft carrying cruiser[2] that served the Soviet and Russian navies from 1975 to 1993. It was built between 1970 and 1975 at Chernomorski factory in Mykolaiv and was the first ship of its class (Project 1143 Krechyet (Gyrfalcon) or Kiev class)
Service life[]
The Kiev was laid down on 21 July 1970 and launched on 26 December 1972. She was completed and commissioned on 28 December 1975, but officially entered service only in February 1977, after completing all trials. In 1976 she was moved from the Black Sea to her destination Severomorsk, as a part of the Northern Fleet. On 16 July 1976 she left Sevastopol - 20.7.76 began testing the Yakovlev Yak-36M (four Yak-36M and one Yak-36MU onboard) under sea conditions in the Mediterranean (off Crete). On 10.8.76 arrived in Severomorsk, Murmansk Oblast - attached to the 170th Anti-Submarine Warfare Brigade; 8.76 to 12.76 extensive tests in the Northern Fleet area; 12.4 to 19.4.77 took part in the Sever-77 exercise; 26.6.77 reclassified from PKR to TAVKR; 20.12.77 to 21.4.78 operations in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean - 3.11.78 hit a sand bar, but suffered no damage; 4.8.78 took part in a local exercise; 11.10.78 final tests of the main missiles in the White Sea.[citation needed]
From 1977 to 1987, Kiev undertook 10 practice voyages to the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. In March 1979 she undertook manoeuvres with her sistership Minsk on the Mediterranean. In October 1981 she was a flagship in the massive fleet exercise Zapad-81 on the Baltic Sea. From December 1982 to November 1984 she underwent an overhaul and modernization in Mykolaiv. From 1985, the practice of operating Yakovlev Yak-38s in STOL mode instead of VTOL was introduced, allowing an increase in aircraft payload and range, and a replacement of Kamov Ka-25 helicopters with Kamov Ka-27 started. In 1985 Kiev went back to the Northern Fleet. From 1987 she mainly stayed in Severomorsk. In December 1989 she was moved to reserve. After the disintegration of the USSR, the ship was taken by Russia. Due to a low military budget and worsening ship's condition, she was retired on 30 June 1993.
Post-service life[]
In 1996 she was sold to a Chinese company, and has been part of Binhai Aircraft Park, a military theme park in Tianjin since 1 May 2004. The concept design and master plan for the park was developed by tourism and attraction consultant Leisure Quest International (USA).
In August 2011, the ex-Kiev began taking guests as its new role as a luxury hotel after a refit costing £9.6 million .[3][4]
See also[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kiev (ship, 1972). |
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Project 1143". http://russian-ships.info/eng/warships/project_1143.htm. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ↑ Due to restrictions imposed by the Montreux Convention limiting the tonnage of aircraft carriers traveling through the Bosporus, all Soviet and Russian aircraft carriers are named as aircraft carrying cruisers. However, in the case of Kiev, this accurately reflects the ship's mission and weapons fit.
- ↑ "China launches second aircraft carrier after a £9.6m refit... as a luxury hotel". Daily Mail. August 11, 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024729/China-launches-second-aircraft-carrier-9-6m-refit--luxury-hotel.html?ITO=1490.
- ↑ The Guardian: China launches second aircraft carrier – as luxury hotel: As sea trials of Varyag concern region, Binhai Aircraft Park uses China's growing naval power to appeal to curious visitors
- В.П.Заблоцкий (V.P. Zablotskiy): "Тяжелый авианесущий крейсер «Киев»" (Tyazholy avyanesushchiy kreyser "Kiev"), Morskaya Kollektsya 7/2003
External links[]
- History of the Kiev, in Russian
- [1] - article on the Kiev Class in Russian
- [2] - article in English from FAS
- MaritimeQuest Kiev pages
- Satellite Photo of Kiev in a military theme park in Tianjin from Google Maps
- China turns aircraft carrier into a luxury hotel (BBC Website News)
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The original article can be found at Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev and the edit history here.
Coordinates: 39°09′19″N 117°48′30″E / 39.15528°N 117.80833°E